Go, Bam, Go: Jesse Rodriguez, San Antonio's low-profile boxing champion faces his toughest test yet

At a time when other boxers run their mouths, Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez lets his fists do the talking. Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom Boxing

“Boxing is dead,” those into sports that allow the savage beating of someone who is already knocked down like to say.

Without dissecting the fact that the so-called “Mixed Martial Arts” have nothing to do with the true spirit of martial arts, or that the MMA/UFC or whatever it’s called lack the basic aesthetic richness of true combat sports and art, the main problem with cage fighting is that, unlike other combat arts such as boxing and, say, Muay Thai, it breaks the basic rule of honorable combat: you don’t punch a fighter who’s down. Period.

Don’t get me wrong: I enjoyed watching, say, Amanda Nunes’ methodical chopping of Ronda Rousey, but she did it through relentless boxing combinations, not through never-ending grappling or other similarly ugly UFC techniques.

True, boxing has its own set of endless holding and boring fights, but there is nothing like a good boxing fight. Nothing. And every decade’s had enough great boxing champions who dignified the sport and overcame its historical corruption through raw talent: the ’60s and ’70’s had Ali, Frazier and Foreman; the ’80s had Sugar Ray, Mano e’ Piedra, Hearns, Hagler and Iron Mike; the ’90s had J. C. Chávez, Manny and Floyd. The list is endless all the way to our times — see Canelo, Crawford and Inoue.

San Antonio’s had world champions before: Bam Bam Johnson, the late Pikin Quiroga, Jesse James Leija, Mario Barrios.

But none like Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez.

The 25-year-old, who grew up around Loop 1604 and Culebra Road and now resides in the Brackenridge area, is 22-0 with 15 KOs and, at the time of this writing, is ranked No. 6 in the pound-per-pound list of The Ring magazine, the legendary “Bible of Boxing.” Only Terence Crawford, Oleksander Usyk, Naoya Inoue, Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev are above Bam.

Now, the San Antonian will face his toughest challenge on Saturday, Nov. 22, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, against Argentina’s Fernando “Puma” Martínez (18-0, with 9 KOs). It’s a winner-take-all affair: Bam’s WBC and WBO and Martínez’s WBA super-flyweight belts will be on the line.

“I’ve been writing about boxing for 15 years, and over that period, I saw two young fighters who were far and away above everybody else in the sport,” Adam Abramowitz, a top boxing analyst with saturdaynightboxing.com and member of the The Ring’s rating panel, said. “One was Bam Rodríguez. The other was [WBC bantamweight champion] Junto Nakatani [31-0 with 24 KOs, ranked at #7 in the pound-per-pound list]. I hope they fight each other at some point.”

Praise for Bam’s skills are unanimous, starting with that of his trainer Robert García, who was in the corner of 16 world champions and has trained Bam since age 15.

“His talent. His skills. His footwork really meant a lot to me,” García told Abramowitz in Saturday Night Boxing in 2024. “Bam was beautiful at what he did from day one. We knew that this kid was going to be special.”

Former SA world champion Jesse James Leija agrees.

“He’s just a phenomenal fighter,” Leija, who beat the great Azumah Nelson twice, told the Current at the Leija Boxing and Fitness gym in Alamo Heights.

“He just … ” Leija started, shaking his head as he tried to find the words. “His movement, his speed, his power… . He has it all, and I think he should be at least No. 5 in the pound-per-pound ranking.”

“Chávez’s pressure was ferocious and unrelenting, but Bam has much faster foot speed,” he told the Current during a Zoom meeting. “[Bam] can do more things, and I don’t think he has to struggle the same way [as Chávez] to get in close. I don’t see Bam as someone who [needs] to take a lot of shots to get where he’s going.”

Tough opponent ahead

After a successful amateur career that included back-to back junior national championship and a silver medal at the junior World championship in 2015, Bam in 2022 won the vacant WBC super-flyweight title by outpointing former champion Carlos Cuadras.

After two defenses in 2023, Bam took the vacant WBO flyweight title on points against Christian González and the IBF flyweight from then-undefeated Sunny Edwards, who retired on round 9.

The San Antonio fighter knocked out former champion Juan Francisco Estrada in 2024 for the WBC flyweight title and, in July of this year, scored a TKO in round 10 against then-undefeated Phumelele Cafu, taking his WBO super-flyweight belt.

Some could argue he’s the greatest pressure fighter since Julio César Chávez, but Abramowitz disagrees.

“Puma” Martínez is Bam’s toughest test, and the Argentine is already trash-talking.

“Instead of ‘Bam Bam’ I’ll give him ‘Boom Boom’,” Martínez said during an interview with Argentine radio Urbana Play earlier this year.

In September, he went even further. “It’ll be a strategical fight, like a chess match,” he told Hall of Famer Juan Manuel Márquez in September on the YouTube channel ProBox TV Español. “But I’m going to knock him out.”

Martinez could be right — he’s no bum. With a 50% KO ratio, the Argentine won’t be intimidated and will throw accurate bomb after accurate bomb. In his past two fights, he convincingly outpointed former WBA super flyweight champion Kazuto Ioka in his home turf of Japan, which is no easy feat.

“He’s a very good fighter,” Abramowitz told the Current. “His victories in Japan have been well-earned. I think it’ll be a close fight. I don’t expect this to be easy, Bam’s not going to blow Puma out of the water by any stretch, but I think in the last third of the fight Bam’s pedigree over time will prevail.”

Both athletes command enough skills to win, but they also have potential weaknesses.

“If he can reach that next precipice,” the writer concluded, “there could be no stopping him.”

Just like Bam, Martínez has been knocked down once, but unlike Bam, he’s been in several wars and, at 34 years old, it’s still to be seen whether he’ll be able to keep up with Bam’s youthful energy. On the other hand, Bam is vulnerable when he loses focus for a split second, as was the case in the sixth round of the 2024 fight against Estrada.

“He got caught by a double jab and a right hand,” said Abramowitz. “There was nothing so particularly clever or amazing about the combination. After the fight, [Bam’s trainer] Robert [García] was concerned that Bam, on occasion, loses focus and doesn’t always understand the threat in front of him.” To his credit, Bam immediately got up and knocked out Estrada in round 7.

Bigger arsenal

It’s an intriguing matchup, but most experts give Bam the slight edge.

“I think they’re both going to be aggressive,” Abramowitz said. “But Bam has more punches in his arsenal, more angles that he could play with. That side-to-side footwork up close is going to be very important, especially if Bam can get some uppercuts.”

Yes, Bam will be all over Martínez’s ass, but this fight feels like the equivalent of two trains colliding head-on. It’s the type of fight with two champions on or near their prime that boxing fans crave, and it bears the scent of an instant classic and potential trilogy.

Neither Bam nor his father are too worried, though.

“Bam doesn’t care [about Martínez’s trash talk],” Jesse Rodríguez said.

That’s Jesse Rodriguez, period, no senior attached.

“He’s Bam, I’m Jesse Rodriguez,” he told me. “Of course [Martínez’s camp] will say anything, they need to sell the fight. No disrespect, but I don’t think he’ll have too many problems with Martínez. The only real threat to him is [Naoya] Inoue. I hope one day we can make the fight. I’ve been saying this for years. That’s the fight, and that’s when we’ll see the best Bam.”

To be sure, Bam will need to bring the big guns to that one. Inoue is a WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO and The Ring super bantamweight champ and holds a 31-0 record with 27 KOs.

Man of few words

Inside the ring, Bam doesn’t let an opponent think, going after them relentlessly. However, outside, he’s an elusive champ — a rarity in these times of trash talk and say-anything-to-sell-the fight nonsense.

“I don’t know what’s up with him, he rarely gives one-on-one interviews,” a boxer at a local gym told me on condition of anonymity. “He’s like a recluse.”

“He’s very quiet, a man of very few words,” Bam’s father explained. “He’s all about training and family.”

I tried getting to Bam through different means: by contacting his promoter (Matchroom Boxing), by visiting the Top Dog gym and speaking to Bam’s brother, former world champion Joshua Franco (himself a former super-flyweight world champion), and even begging attorney Joseph Gámez from Gámez Law, Bam’s sponsor.

The closest I got to Bam was when I showed unannounced to Top Dog and Rodríguez called Bam to his training camp in Moreno Valley, California. He spoke to Bam in front of me.

“He says he’ll do it, but not today,” Rodríguez said. “He’ll call you. He wants to do it.”

As of this writing, Bam still hasn’t called.

“You can talk to him anytime you find him at the gym or doing press conferences, but he’s very low-key, he’s so focused on the fight,” brother Joshua Franco said.

Besides his natural talent, perhaps that’s what makes Bam so great: at a time when fighters are eager to babble their asses off, Bam prefers to let his fists do the talking. Sure, there’s room for improvement, but what he’s done so far is enough to make one believe the hype.

“[Bam’s] physical tools are all there,” Abramowitz wrote in Saturday Night Boxing after the Estrada fight. “His boxing skills are sublime, but it’s that final part of his development that needs a bit more refining.

Ring IV: Night of Champions starts on Sat., Nov. 4 at 2 p.m. Main fight: David Benavídez vs Anthony Yarde for the WBC light heavyweight title. Other fights include Bam Rodriguez vs Fernando Martínez (super flyweight title), Abdullah Mason vs Sam Noakes (WBO super lightweight title) and Brian Norman Jr. vs Devin Haney (WBO welterweight title). Watch it on DAZN. PPV $59.99 (subscription required).

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Go, Bam, Go: Jesse Rodriguez, San Antonio’s low-profile boxing champion faces his toughest test yet

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